Albany Museum of Art, Dougherty School System to host Juneteenth celebration

ALBANY ─ The Albany Museum of Art, in partnership with the Dougherty County School System, will host a Juneteenth Fine Art Celebration, a tribute to Juneteenth National Independence Day, from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturday.

“The Dougherty County School System’s Fine Arts Department is excited to celebrate Juneteenth in collaboration with the Albany Museum of Art,” DCSS lead art teacher Samantha Fields, who also serves on the AMA Board of Trustees, said. “We seek to promote and amplify community while uplifting black liberation through the arts. Although we would like to look back and reflect, events such as these are important so that we can also look to the future. What better way to celebrate than through the exhibition of black artists, musicians, and business owners?”

AMA Director of Education and Public Programming Annie Vanoteghem said the museum is excited to collaborate with DCSS on the special event.

“The Juneteenth Fine Art Celebration will be a fun-filled day dedicated to black history, culture, and achievements through fine arts,” she said. “We will have art created by Dougherty County students, crafts, business vendors, food trucks and more.”

Juneteenth, officially celebrated on June 19, is one of the oldest commemorations of the abolition of slavery in the United States. The name comes from the blending of the words June and nineteenth. A federal holiday since 2021 and a state holiday in Georgia since 2022, it also has been referred to over the years as Emancipation Day, Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Black Independence Day, and Juneteenth Independence Day.

The observance originated in Texas, the first state to make Juneteenth an official holiday in 1980. It commemorates the day on which enslaved black Americans in Galveston, Texas, were informed that they were free when Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger ordered the enforcement of President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation issued two years earlier. The Galveston event happened more than two months after the end of the Civil War.

A year later, on June 19, 1866, community gatherings in Texas began marking the anniversary. The observance spread throughout the South and to other regions of the U.S. over the following decades.

The Juneteenth Fine Art Celebration will be free and open to the public. The event will feature artwork by students in the Dougherty County School System, book signings by local black authors, a vendor area highlighting black-owned businesses, and food trucks offering a variety of fare. The Dougherty High School choir is scheduled to perform, and organizers are working to add more student performances.

There also will be an opportunity to win an archival print of artist Cedric Smith’s painting “From Cotton to Roses.” The framed 27-inch by 20-inch print will be signed and dated by the artist. The print is valued at $1,500. The original painting, part of the AMA’s permanent collection, is currently on view in the museum lobby.

“Tickets are $7.50 or two for $10, and they may be purchased at the event or online,” Vanoteghem said. “You don’t have to be present at the time of the drawing to win.”

A link to buy tickets may be found at www.albanymuseum.com/juneteenth-2024/.

Businesses also have time to register as vendors. The deadline is Thursday. Businesses interested in participating can find the registration link at www.albanymuseum.com/2024-juneteenth/.

“There is a rich, vibrant history and sense of community in Juneteenth,” Vanoteghem said. “We invite everyone to come and celebrate this important point in American history.”

The Albany Museum of Art is located at 311 Meadowlark Drive, adjacent to Albany State University’s West Campus just off Gillionville Road. The museum is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums and is open to the public 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. Admission is free.

Special Photo: Albany Museum of Art/Annie Vanoteghem